Determination
by Pursued-Alive
Summary: A young Itachi Uchiha has had his eye on Hinata Hyuga for a while; will he finally be able to muster up the courage to speak to her on the night of the Festival of the Fireflies?


_Dedication_

Itachi had always dreamed of the simple life. One filled with regrets was not one which he wanted to live, no matter how much a shinobi had to sacrifice. Sacrifice his life, he would, for the sake of his village and his honour as well, but to carry a heavy load of burden and regret on his shoulders, which would constantly weigh him down every day was not what he desired. To him, Konoha was the brick wall which reached up high into the sky, blocking everything out, even the sun. But whether the people knew it or not, sometimes you could be your own worst enemy. The council were ordering him to execute and eradicate his own clan – a _coup d'etat, _but for what? Because they were fearful, and therefore foolish? Because they thought the Uchiha were getting too powerful, and they had a dedicated task-force to finishing the rest of Konoha off? The elders were wise, but they were not far-thinkers like Itachi was. He knew the only way that they could resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha would be to establish a peace treaty – but he was a mere ANBU – he had no place with the council, and therefore, could not help with the issue.

It was to either let the Uchiha grow more powerful and out of hand – or delve into their secrets and expose them for the council's benefit, and kill them.

Either choice was hard for any mortal man to go through.

To kill your _clan? _Your whole family, whom you grew up with? Any sane shinobi would never go down that path; the path that greatly separated right from wrong. They would take one glance in it with fear and go right back to where they had started from.

But not Itachi.

He was different.

And it was this dedication that would test him to the limit – it was this that would lead to his inevitable downfall.

But before that occurred, there was a certain time that would forever be engrained into his memory.

When Itachi was younger, much younger, there was a girl who had first appeared.

She did not seem like the others, with her pixie-cut dark blue hair, and her short, choppy bangs, nor with her lavender coloured eyes, which seemed to have a sort of innocence to them, as if she was looking at the world through her eyes for the first time. She was meek, and very shy, he noticed, as she clung by her father's side. It was the Festival of the Fireflies, where the flying critters were worshipped as the bringers of light; an outstanding tradition which had been honoured every season when they would appear. When it came to midnight, the shinobi and villagers of Konoha would open their lanterns and capture the little bugs, and then walk in rows to the river, where they opened them after saying a prayer – and festivities would be held in the marketplace. On this particular night, Itachi was with his father Fugaku, mother Mikoto and little brother Sasuke on the outing, dressed in kimonos, complete with socks and sandals.

It was getting close to midnight as fireworks cracked and boomed in the blackened sky, erupting into millions of colours, as the gasps of people alerted the world to their enlightenment. And Itachi, even though he was good-mannered and patient, could not help feeling a tiny bit bored; though he did not know why. Shifting from foot to foot, he moved away from his family, his mind wandering, and that was when he spotted her. The young heiress to the Hyuga Clan, Hinata Hyuga. She too, seemed a little restless like he was – and he couldn't help but wonder why, too. As he saw her walk away, her hands clasped cutely behind her back, he decided to follow her. His first intention was to make sure that no harm would come to her, and that was first and foremost at the front of his mind. But another thing soon wormed its way through to him; he wanted to keep her company. He saw her turn a corner as she walked down the track – the one they used for walking down to the river with the lanterns, and jogged a little to catch up. She looked around, but he quickly hid himself from her view behind a few bushes. Once she kept walking he transported back to the track, and saw that she stopped near the clearing, as she bent down. Then he saw the fireflies. They were _everywhere! _

They flew around her, their bodies lighting up her beautiful pale face with an eerie yellowish-green tinge, as she opened her lantern. Itachi peered closer at the lantern, shaking his head in disbelief. He hadn't seen her carrying the lantern before. Perhaps it was too dark? She seemed to be fumbling to try to catch a firefly as she squeaked a little, and one flew right out of her hands. Itachi decided then and there that he would help her. He moved near her, and she turned around and widened her eyes, nearly dropping her lantern in surprise. He had to stifle a smile – she _was _rather cute, especially in her kimono, on this night of nights. "I-Itachi-san!" she stammered, her long eyelashes fluttering as she struggled to bow to him, while kneeling on the ground, but in the end, she simply nodded her head, chewing on the inside of her gums. "I...I did not s-see you there..."

"I kept myself well-hidden from view," was his reply, as he gave her a soft smile which reached his eyes. Hinata blushed and fumbled with the clasp of the lantern's window, the glass panel she had to shut to capture a firefly. "I did not wish to startle you, Hinata-san, and I do apologise for doing it unnecessarily." He peered over her shoulder as he saw her stiffen, and he blinked slightly. Had he...done something to alarm her?

"I-it's okay..." she whispered, still fiddling with the glass panel, shutting it and opening it repeatedly in a nervous way, staring at the ground. "D-Do you need anything, Itachi-san? U-Um...I-I..."

Itachi tilted his head. Need anything? No, he didn't need anything. But what he wanted to see on her face was a smile. "I don't need anything, Hinata-san."

Her face dropped, and she looked very disappointed. "O-Oh..."

"...I wish to help you."

Hinata's face went bright red as she slowly turned around, a look of pure amazement on her face as her kimono sleeves, (which were a bit too long for her) draped around her slender wrists. "Y-you wish t-to help...-"

"Yes." Smiling still, he touched her hand gently and stared up at the sky, before withdrawing his hand from hers, clearing his throat slightly, looking at her. "It seems to me that you are having a bit of trouble catching a firefly, Hinata-san."

Her cheeks grew tinged with pink which soon turned to red, and he knew she was embarrassed at not being able to catch even a single firefly.

"...However, I think I may be able to help you with that task. Would you like me to?" Ever the gentleman, he waited for her answer, tucking a stray of loose hair behind his ears, his dark coal eyes gleaming ever so slightly.

Hinata nodded firmly. "Y-Yes, please."

"Very well." Cupping his hands, he nodded once as he saw her glance at his hands and then at his face. She couldn't notice how handsome he looked in the glow of the fireflies buzzing around them, and she flushed, ducking her head shyly. "Close your eyes please, Hinata-san." She did as she was instructed. Itachi caught a firefly in his hands, seeing her trembling form. "You can open them now."

She opened them and gasped. In his hands...was a firefly! But how had he captured it so easily? It had been so..._hard, _for her to try to do it herself! "I-Itachi...h-how...d-did you...-?"

He flushed lightly as he called her by his name without a suffix, and looked at her warmly. "I let them find rest in my hands – surely, after all that buzzing around, they must be tired, no...?"

She stared in awe. His idea – although it would sound childish to an adult, to _her, _it sounded perfectly real – perfectly acceptable. She gave a nod, and he glanced at them for a moment and then back to her. "Now, you have a try, Hinata." He said softly, radiance and warmth dripping from his words as he took her hands in his, instructed her to cup them, as she did so, and cupped his own around hers.

As soon as she did, a firefly fluttered down and rested itself in the palms of her hands, and she gave a little squeak before clasping her hands over it, covering it so it couldn't escape. "O-oh!"

"Quickly, quickly, Hinata, you mustn't let it escape!" he urged gently, as she quickly transferred it to the lantern and shut the glass pane, as it flew around harmlessly, lighting up the glass panes and the grass around the lantern. He laughed softly, his eyes closed as a rare grin spread across his face, and Hinata felt herself staring at him, transfixed.

_Itachi-san..._

Before she had the chance for her gaze to linger any longer, he stood up and brushed his hands against hers, nodding to Hinata softly as she picked up the lantern. "So we have your firefly, Hinata...would you like to help me catch one, too?" he asked politely, blinking slowly at her.

She blinked rapidly and looked around her nervously as her kimono swished from side to side, the lantern swinging a little back and forth. "I-I don't have another lantern w-with me..." she mumbled, looking up at him through her long black lashes, biting her lip.

"Never mind about that, Hinata...we can get another one from the festival, can't we?"

"Y-Yes!" she answered, unable to stop a smile appearing on her face as he walked with her down the track back to the festivities, as he talked about fireflies in general, and how his brother and he used to sit by the dock overlooking the lake on their property, as they watched the fireflies.

"There is an old saying, Hinata, which I have heard before...do you know what it is?" he asked her, once they came into view of the marketplace, and she turned her head to look at him, shaking it. "_...'Catch a firefly and your problems will be solved. Let someone else catch it for you, and they will solve your problems for you.'"_

He ruffled her hair gently as she blushed and stared at him, literally speechless.

"Wouldn't you like it if it came true, Hinata? I know I would."


End file.
